Supervisors Can’t Decide on Appeal

Orange County supervisors deadlocked Tuesday on whether to order an appeal of a judge’s ruling that voided petitions on the Great Park ballot initiative.

With Supervisor Chuck Smith out of town on county business, the remaining four supervisors split on the issue, which frustrated Supervisor Todd Spitzer because the appeal was recommended by the county’s chief executive, Michael Schumacher, and county counsel, Laurence M. Watson. “They can’t let their politics interfere,” Spitzer said.

Proponents of an initiative to convert the closed El Toro Marine base into a urban park instead of a commercial airport, were dealt a setback last week when Superior Court Judge James P. Gray invalidated their petitions.

The judge ruled that the ballot title and summary prepared by the county counsel’s office were faulty and misleading. As a result, about 128,000 signatures gathered by the initiative’s proponents to qualify the ballot for the March election were voided.

Spitzer said Board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad and Supervisor Jim Silva, who with Smith support an airport, allowed their political agenda to cloud the decision.

“How often has the board ever not followed the recommendation of county counsel? Not very often,” Spitzer said. “How can these supervisors say they support our county counsel?”

Coad would not say how she voted during Tuesday’s closed session, saying she believed any action should have been delayed, given the importance of the issue.

“I said it was premature and that we needed to wait because Supervisor Smith was out of town,” Coad said.

“You look at my record,” Coad said. “I’ve admired Lon Watson’s work. I think he did a good job on this initiative, but Judge Gray ruled against it and Supervisor Smith was out of town.” The issue will be on the agenda for next week’s board meeting, which Smith can attend.

Some South County residents were angry at the county counsel’s office for its role in the preparation of the ballot documents that Gray faulted. If unchallenged, Gray’s ruling would squash airport foes’ hopes to meet a Sept. 18 deadline to place the measure on the ballot.

In related action Tuesday, airport opponents filed their own appeal of Gray’s decision.

But Spitzer, who is an attorney, raised concerns that lack of official county involvement would be “a very chilling statement” to an appeals court.

By law, Spitzer said, when residents seek a ballot initiative and go through the petition process, the ballot summary and title must be prepared by the county counsel’s office.

“The public has no option here. They must use the counsel’s office,” he said.

Supervisors Tom Wilson, who is an airport critic, and Silva could not be reached for comment.